Southeast Regional Page
Indianapolis, Ind.----Wingate University earned the number one seed in the NCAA Division II Southeast Region volleyball tournament, officials announced late Sunday night. Wingate was chosen to host the 2009 Southeast Region volleyball tournament Friday through Sunday in Cuddy Arena.
The number 24 Bulldogs will begin play Friday night, facing Tusculum College at 7:30 p.m. Wingate is 34-1 overall on the season; the Bulldogs claimed their fourth consecutive Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament title over the weekend.
Wingate has been the number one team in the region in every poll this season. The Bulldogs earn their fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA post-season and their sixth journey in the last seven years. This is the second straight year Wingate University has hosted the Southeast Regional Tournament.
The Bulldogs are currently riding a 22-match winning streak. They have also won 46 consecutive SAC matches dating back to the 2006 season. Wingate is 98-5 overall since the beginning of the 2007 season, good for a .951 winning percentage, which ranks second among all Division II teams in that span. The Bulldogs have topped the 30-win mark three consecutive years.
The Bulldogs are led by 2009 South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas). Gale leads the conference with 3.77 kills per set, while ranking second with a .303 hitting percentage. First team all-conference selection Lauren Billo (Orland Park, Ill.) leads the way with a .325 hitting percentage, while ranking second with 3.59 kills per set.
First Team All-SAC setter Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) leads the league with 9.97 assists per set. Sophomore libero Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) was a second team all-conference selection, ranking second in the league with 4.91 digs per set. The 2009 SAC Tournament MVP, Malone has racked up a Wingate single-season record 574 digs in 2009.
Wingate will host Tusculum College in the opening round match Friday night at 7:30 p.m. The Bulldogs and Pioneers met twice in the 2009 season, with Wingate winning both matches 3-0. Billo had 10 kills to lead the way in the first matchup, while Gale added five kills and 10 digs. Senior outside hitter Jacki Emmenecker (Perrysburg, Ohio) led the way in the second meeting with 14 kills and a .444 hitting percentage, while Malone collected 16 digs.
The winner of the Wingate vs. Tusculum match will take on the winner of the Carson-Newman vs. Catawba match Saturday at 7 p.m. Five of the eight teams in the Southeast Regional Tournament are South Atlantic Conference teams. Flagler College, Peach Belt regular season and tournament champion, earned the number two seed. The Saints will take on the seventh-seeded Bobcats of Lees-McRae, who won the Conference Carolinas Tournament. Defending Southeast Regional champion Armstrong Atlantic State earned the three seed, and will take on the sixth seeded Railsplitters of Lincoln Memorial.
NCAA Division II Southeast Regional
Cuddy Arena, Wingate, N.C.
Friday, November 20
Afternoon Session
12 noon -- #3 Armstrong Atlantic State (26-9) vs. #6 Lincoln Memorial (22-9)
2:30 p.m. -- #2 Flagler (32-8) vs. #7 Lees-McRae (29-5)
Evening Session
5:00 p.m. -- #4 Carson-Newman (22-9) vs. #5 Catawba (17-11)
7:30 p.m. -- #1 Wingate (34-1) vs. #8 Tusculum (18-14)
Saturday, November 21
4:30 p.m. -- LMU/AASU winner vs. FU/LMC winner
7:00 p.m. -- C-N/CC winner vs. WU/TC winner
Sunday, November 22
7:00 p.m. -- championship match
(Wingate University assistant sports information director Hugh Patton wrote this article. Patton is a 2006 Wingate graduate with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies.)
